This is a highly original and inventive book. Full of colourful characters and a charismatic circus setting. This novel contains elements of the fairy tale, a love story as well as drama. Celia and Marco are attracted to one another, both blessed with magical talents that allow them to manipulate objects and animals to their will. The problem, as they discover, is that they are to be star crossed lovers, pitted against one another by their mentors, locked together in a challenge to perform the best magic. Can they find a way to outwit the challenge and be together.
Then there is Bailey who is dared to enter the circus as a young boy, the circus that is only open at night and known as the circus of dreams. He does so and there starts a lifelong obsession with the circus that sees him building up to play a pivotal role in the life of the circus. Everything about the circus is mysterious and strange. A fan club who identify one another by wearing red springs up following the circus all over the world and record their adventures. There is the magical clock that inspires the patrons, a magic carousel and mazes that come and go as well as acrobats, contortionists and amazing illusionists!
The novel draws in the reader as the circus attracts its patrons, it has to be read carefully and absorbed, there are a host of characters whose motives are not entirely clear, the performers never age, the bonfire that is lit with great ceremony seems vital to the survival of the circus and one is never sure if the magic they see is real or an illusion. A wonderful novel and a fantastic read. 5/5
Archives
Christmas is coming
Yes in just a week’s time those of us with children will be trying to persuade them that the man with the red coat, white beard and red nosed reindeer is on his way and about to drop all their dreams down the chimney. Others will be worrying if the gifts they have saved hard for all year will satisfy their little ones, or partners and we’ll all be trying to find that perfect something for that special someone. No wonder Christmas is so stressful. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy the silly season and now I have my own children there has been a bit of a momentum shift. As a grown up without kids I could lazily enjoy bucks fizz in bed, a 3-4 pm lunch and lots of booze and a film or something in the evening. These days I count myself lucky if there is a 6 or later in the hour section of the clock and I know that once one of the three is up it won’t be long before the other two follow. Stockings and breakfast follow before they are allowed their presents from under the tree, some from us, some from friends and family and usually somewhere hidden a special present that requires their full attention.
It makes me wonder now how stressed my own parents must have felt with our presents. I must admit that when I was thinking about what to get the children I found it easy to dismiss demands for TV’s and iphones but some of the other, still expensive requests seemed reasonable, but why did they want these particular things, TV advertising, friends or even us putting ideas into their heads? I do feel pressure to get them the right thing, something they want but that also means they won’t get teased when they all go back to school and compare notes, after all that’s one of the things that kids do. This year we’ve done quite well with the requests as we started early enough but it hasn’t been as easy as other years, I don’t think it is for anyone, prices are going up, pay is staying the same and jobs are harder to come by. We are still lucky as I can be at home with the kids and volunteer at their school to get some experience points before job hunting next year, but even so it makes me feel for those who worry there is too little under the tree and it makes me worry about how consumerist we have all become.
It has been interesting that my younger children could think of lots and lots of things they would like while Hpops couldn’t really, there were things she would like and enjoy having but she was finding it difficult to think of things she really wanted, I myself have found it difficult and as a result most of us have settled for token things like luxury chocolates, vouchers for a favourite shop rather than specific, perhaps more expensive requests. When asked what the children would like it has become increasingly difficult as things have got so expensive, so we have stuck to things like Lego, annuals,book tokens. I can remember at their ages being delighted with such gifts as well as stationery of jigsaws but in the modern age these gifts are often seen as quaint or boring, after all if it doesn’t have a touch screen, move, talk or actively entertain them what good is it? I feel that as good as the benefits of modern technology are traditional arts and crafts are losing out a bit, kids expect to be entertained. My pre-ipod daughter is good at entertaining herself, she reads, writes and colours in the littler two require more active entertaining, it isn’t enough to play a game once, Imp is just beginning to be able to play alone but we get frequent complaints that no-one will play with him, as we do from Pixie as well, they expect someone to entertain them and if the ipod is out of charge there is apparently nothing to do! This holiday we are encouraging them to play more board games, do more crafts and, goodness help us, talk to each other. During the first day of their holidays they have helped me wash the car, played Strictly come Dancing, written cards and delivered them to the neighbours and watched a film, the ipods are tucked away, for now!
This isn’t really a moan just a longing, we know that the traditional Christmas pastimes will only get us so far before the boring comments start, they’ll have annuals to read, lego to build and games to play and I hope they have a really wonderful time like I did when I was a kid, waking up full of excitement and pleased to get a whole selection box or toy to play with. I know that on the day they probably won’t spare a thought for those children not lucky enough to be swamped with gifts or wonder who received the shoebox we made up for Operation Christmas Child but I do hope some day they’ll be sharing some lovely memories with their own children and that maybe they’ll be a little less stressed about the gifts and content to have their family around them. For me this Christmas that is what counts, having the kids around us and seeing the rest of the family over the holiday period, not the shiny paper and money spent and so on, especially after the events in Newtown last week, the children slain the same age as my own son, it makes me realise I’m lucky to have kids, to have things to worry about and I’m going to sit back and enjoy the ride!
Merry Christmas, and remember it’s the thought that counts!
Children and money
As anyone who has watched the BBC in the last few weeks may know, tomorrow, Friday 16th November will see the massive fundraising telethon event that is Children in Need. Special editions of the Beeb’s favourite programs including Dr Who, Strictly, Eastenders and music from a whole host of events as well as heart breaking videos will fill the airwaves. My children will be watching some of these in the hope that they can see where some of the money that the school helps to raise every time it comes around actually goes, as well as getting an insight into the lives of those who are less fortunate themselves. The school this year is having a wear silly socks to school and a film and popcorn event, the children give a donation and then get to watch the film and munch popcorn, sounds good! For the first time when I asked the children how much they wanted to take in they went to their own money boxes and produced some money themselves. They’re keen to pay their own way. Not to mention that Hpops has been badgering me to help her with a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. So off I went with the list of things she had made having read the information on the website, and then this evening we wrapped a box in paper, printed off the label and stocked the box with all the goodies. We went on-line to pay the postage and print off the barcode so that at some point we will be able to see where the shoebox ended up.
‘Mummy, how much did all this cost?’ Hpops asked me thoughtfully, so I told her and off she trotted returning with her money box. This time she handed me some money and told me we could go halves because she was the one who wanted to send the box, I was touched that she cared enough to give up some of her own money. Recently the trend of the children to spend most of their pocket money as soon as they get it, often on things they don’t need and get bored with after a couple of days has led to us setting up standing orders for the three of them for the majority of their pocket money. The rest of it they ‘earn’ through keeping their rooms tidy, putting their washing away and doing their homework without too much of a fight! We try to teach them the value of money as they had begin to adopt the ‘it’s broken, let’s get another one asap!’ attitude.
Hpops in particular has begun to learn as when the TV in the kitchen decided it wasn’t going to work anymore we decided that rather than rush out and replace it, instead we’d show them how to save up and get things they really want! The second way we have been showing them the value of money is by saving up nectar points. There is a certain set of Audio books featuring a certain wizard popular with children and adults that Hpops really wants, the complete set costs a heck of a lot of money so instead of buying them we have been saving up Nectar points, this has shown her how to save, we could have spent the points several times over but by saving with the points we have has the cash we would have spent and she will value them a lot more when in the next couple of weeks we finally reach our goal!
It has meant Mr T and I have had to stop buying things as soon as we want them to try and teach the children to do the same, after all if we tell them they have to save, think carefully about what they want rather than rush out and buy the nearest thing we have to model it! In this way it has helped us as well to prioritise what the family needs and what we can leave for a couple of months for, we are teaching then not to buy things unless they can go into the shop and buy what they want, rather than bargain with us and ‘borrow’ money. They have also been pleasantly surprised how much their pocket money and birthday money has built up since they have been saving their money and even receiving interest!
My biggest tip for teaching children the value of money is to model it for them, show them that you have a saving goal for a luxury and encourage them to keep their money in a bank account so they can watch it grow, let them have a goal, maybe a longed for to and gadget. The chances are if they have saved for it themselves, the experience of buying it and having it will give them great satisfaction and they are more likely to look after it than the stuff they just get given!
The Causal Vacancy by J K Rowling
I was both eager and reluctant to read this book. I loved the Harry Potter books because I liked the characters, and I was concerned that this book simply wouldn’t be as good. A complete change of age target age range and genre also gave me concerns, but the novel is good. I liked it, it is a bit like midsomer murders without the murder!
The story is centred on the village of Pagford which is near to a larger distrusted town Yarvil, the residents are divided about the town and more specifically about an area known as the Fields. This is an area that was built to house poorer residents and is generally run down and filled with the more undesirable elements. Not only that but some of the council want to get rid of the addiction clinic that they feel is using up all their precious resources and encouraging the undesirables.
The problems begin for Pagford when their local councillor Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly and unexpectedly triggering an election. As the power plays being dark secrets are exposed via the ghost of Barry Fairbrother, revealing secrets that no-one wants revealed. As the election looms and the secrets are revealed a series of events contributed to by the simple power plays of the would be councillors have devastating results, leading to epiphanies, job losses, and even funerals. I was sad at the end of the novel but to some degree satisfied, in the main the characters had seemed to get what they deserved but I won’t spoil it by telling you what happens to who.
The novel is well written and captures the voices of the individual characters, both young and old very well. It reveals in details how a community of people who in the main co-operate with one another, live together without too much acrimony keep secrets from each other, their parents, their children and their partners. Emotions are well portrayed and the tensions between the pro and con fields people are played out authentically. I much enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend it. 5/5
Happy Half Term
We’re nearly at the end of half term really, we’ve so far been bowling, caught up with some friend and given treats to those who were out trick or treating. We didn’t go this year, instead we carved a pumpkin, coloured in some window decorations, watched a spooky film together with sweets and the kids dressed up. We discovered that Pixie didn’t like her costume because it was too ‘itchy’, Imp only had a Lightening McQueen costume so not particularly scary and Hpops was the only one dresses as a proper witch!
We are much looking forward to a fireworks party on Saturday, and having some family fun. We’ve done lots of crafty bits during the day which has now got much easier as Pixie is big enough to join in independently which means that I can divide my time more equally rather than letting the older two cause chaos. Of course the weather has meant that some of the more outside days out have been put on the back burner for now but Hpops enjoyed ‘Halloween hilarity’ at the stables!
Pixie is living up to her cheeky name at the moment and is now afraid to speak her mind, sometimes out loud, in public and rather embarrassingly! There was the time when she at the hospital asked me if she needed to see a different doctor because the first one wasn’t clever enough to sort out her problem, head down, hold her hand and pull seemed to be the solution here! I have to say when out and she says ‘Mummy..’ in that funny little way she has I cross my fingers and hope she just want to go to the toilet or something. I have discovered that raising the kids has been lovely, I have enjoyed watching them learn and grow but now I have to say I am enjoying going back to work part time as I am starting to have adult conversations again, have an interest outside of the house and have something other than running around after the kids to worry about.
To this end I have decided to try and find a teaching position next September, preferably part time so that I can continue with the writing and studying as well. I am hoping to find the fabled work/home balance, wish me luck.
Teaching
Recently I found myself back in the class room, it’s only for two mornings a week and I’m not teaching on my own, I’m assisting but I have to say I have found myself surprised. On the first day I was exceptionally nervous, it was years since I’d been back in the classroom in a capacity other than a parent helper and I was worried that as I knew some of the children as a parent they wouldn’t accept me as a teacher. I was concerned that the teachers wouldn’t want a trained teacher assisting either in case they were worried I was treading on their toes. I needn’t have worried, after about the second lesson lots of things came flooding back, as well as my realisation that things had changed.
The interactive whiteboards that were starting to be rolled out when I first went on maternity leave with Matthew were now fully operational and from watching the teachers use them they seem fairly intuitive although I still haven’t ventured into using one of them. It does seem easier to plan things onto computers plug them in and off you go which means that the power of the internet (safe search on, of course) can be harnessed as well as lots of interactive games and activities that enhance learning. As well as this overhead projectors with slightly fuzzy handwritten hymn words have become visualisers that focus automatically and have become a powerful tool for modelling good work and praising children. Yes I am beginning to sound like a teacher again, apparently I still have ‘the look.’ That isn’t to say it has all been plain sailing, Hpops has been a little up and down about the whole thing, for a while she was convinced that I must like other children better than her and wanted me to help out in her class, I had to point out to her that this wouldn’t necessarily be a good idea!
From just a few weeks in the class again I have realised that I have missed teaching, especially as my own children have neared the age I used to teach and I am enjoying helping out with the children, getting to see the light bulb, I get it moments that makes teaching a special thing and not having to deal with the hassle factor of marking, planning and so on. However I do want to return to the profession, the problem will be to find the right job as I need to fit it around the kids if possible but for the moment I am really content just helping out a bit and biding my time, who knows I may feel differently once the children start working out how to wind their teachers up and things more routine.
In other news the kids have settled in really well into their new classes, we have parent’s evening approaching and I am hoping that the reports will be good, writing is now happening on a regular basis thanks to the children being back at school, and I am still considering what to do regarding studying as something is going to have to give I think. Still it just goes to show that teaching is still rewarding for me and I hope to continue to enjoy it.
And then there was me…
For the last eight years or so I have had at least one child at home for the majority of the day. That all changed on Wednesday when Pixie skipped thorough the school gates for her first full day in school. Of course we have had nursery, playgroups and so on but most of the time I have been ferrying the children to and from school, taking them to parties and trying to cope with their never ending demands.
Of course I have plenty of things to do, the huge pile of washing left over from our holiday has become a mountain of ironing, I finally have time to do some uninterrupted writing, study, get to grips with the piano and catch up with my reading but the house still seems too quiet.
It finally hit me today that I am on my own, the previous two days I have walked Pixie round to her new class room and handed her over to the teacher, so it didn’t seem that different to the usual handover but today she told me proudly that she had to walk around to the classroom by herself. She had a big smile on her face, gave me a big hug and hurried off, her hat falling over her eyes but eager to get on with her day. It amazes me how quickly the time has gone and how much they’ve grown up.
Of course I should be happy to get some time to myself, and I am to some extent but as the same time (whisper) I miss them, it’s kind of nice to have them around and be able to have fun, whereas now once we have managed to get of the door vaguely on time, and then come home again it is time for homework, music practice and dinner. Still it’ll soon be half term and I’m sure by Tuesday I’ll be complaining that they’re driving me mad again! in the meantime I’ll content myself with helping out with dance, library and swimming and try not to worry about them!
Our day at the Olympics!
Sunday heralded our first (and probably only unless we get some last minute tickets!) visit to the Olympics. We were off to Wimbledon and wary of the travel advice we headed off early. As it was a Sunday we didn’t have commuters to deal with and although a little busier than usual the train was not packed and the children were able to sit by a window. There was a thrill of excitement as we passed the Olympic Park and could see people milling about, the main stadium was not yet in use but there were still plenty of things going on. We managed to get onto the central line and again all was quiet and even the changeover for the district line held no problems. We arrived at Southfields at about 1045 and there was the fairly long trek to the entrance, there were taxis operating but not the usual stream of shuttle buses. Our only real problem came getting into the venue, we walked to where we had been directed to enter but were then advised to walk on to another gate as there were less queues. We did just this only to find that this gate was meant to be exit only so the queue was restricted, by now the children were fed up with walking around the outside of the courts and were beginning to moan, in the end the volunteer let us join the queue. We had to get the children to drink their drinks so they weren’t confiscated and our bag was scanned and we were all searched and security wanded. It took me a while to convince Pixie that it was OK to stand there and I was a bit put out that a four year old ended up getting quite distressed for no real problem.
The rain storm that had been threatening to soak us then did so as we got into the venue but the children enjoyed seeing the hardworking groundsmen putting the covers over and then beginning to inflate them. We were lucky enough to have centre court tickets so even though it was throwing it down we were guaranteed play thanks to the roof. We had a wander about and took the kids picture by the huge Wenlock topiary and then we made our way to our seats.
There were a lot of stairs to climb and luckily for us our seats were on the end of a row so it was easier for us to come and go as necessary. Pixie who had hardy slept the night before decided very quickly that she wasn’t too bothered and so she went to sleep on Mr T’s lap! The other two watched attentively and tried to get their heads around the scoring system which I had tried and failed to explain to them. Lunch came after a long first set and again queuing was minimal, the children also enjoyed spending my money in the London 2012 shop and all had new keyrings for their school bags. We got back just as Pixie work up and watched the end of the match before what the children were looking forward to Murray!
They had all made their own union jacks and as the players warmed up waved them enthusiastically, they also went a bit closer and took some pictures. They enjoyed the atmosphere and cheered and clapped in all the right places and were pleased when Murray finished with a win. Having for the most part sat and paid attention they were getting a little antsy so we went for a wander around the grounds. In so doing we walked past a fair few players, had the kids picture taken with the chair umpire for Murray’s match Lars Graff and got a picture of Judy Murray. Davydenko waved from the players area and we saw Ancic being interviewed with his doubles partner as they awaited the end of the rain! A large crowd was gathered under the media centre where we could see Murray being interviewed after his win, as it started to rain again he turned waved and smiled. A hot chocolate later and we wanted to head back to our seats to watch Sharapova, unfortunately it was really raining, we had failed to bring an umbrella with us so ended up buying a couple.
The children were amazed at the noise Sharapova made and struggled not to giggle, Pixie declared she was bored and started to be a pain so after Sharapova finished we headed home, making sure our tickets were scanned so someone else could go and watch Tsonga, I felt bad about leaving early but with the kids it was the right decision. Again we got to Southfields and the trains were busy but manageable, at Earl’s court the volleyball crowds were emptying out but it was no worse than a commuter train. When we got to Notting Hill Gate and changed the central line we all got a seat and soon we were back at Liverpool Street.
All in all we enjoyed the day and saw some great tennis, the worst thing we have found it watching the events on TV and seeing so many empty seats and whilst they are filling them with army members and so on it is a shame that people who want to go can’t, Hpops would have loved to go to the equestrian or diving, and although there are some tickers for the top level events they are priced at top level prices, I keep trying for tickets and apparently there are more going on sale each night so maybe we’ll get lucky.
I was pleasantly surprised at the children’s enthusiasm, they have enjoyed watching the swimming and cheering on team GB, they are able to recognise the union jack as well as some of the other flags and are looking forward to seeing Usain Bolt on the TV as well as Tom Daley. We will be watching some on the TV but there is no substitute for going and soaking up the atmosphere. Lots of memories for the children though and despite the stresses of the day I’m glad they had the opportunity to go to an Olympic event and if they are really lucky we may even get to go the Olympic Park before it all ends!
LOL Drinks
We were recently sent some drinks hitting shelves of the supermarkets anytime now! They were LOL drinks, they contain a portion of fruit per can, but the thing that makes them stand out is the fact that they are carbonated. My children have not been keen on the whole fizz thing but they agreed to be guinea pigs and try each of the three flavours;
Apple and orange, apple and blackcurrant, apple and raspberry.
We enjoyed all the varieties but our favourite was the apple and raspberry, all of them had a nice fruity flavour with just the right amount of fizz, the kids felt comfortable with. They liked the distinctive bright coloured smiley faces on the cans and thought that they would like to see them in the shops and older children will be familiar with the LOL meaning from text speak, I have been asked to buy some for the older children as they stated that it would be something different to squash and water. I have to admit I don’t mind too much as a whole portion of fruit in a drink I can get into the kids is always good, especially one that can make them feel a bit more grown up because it is fizzy.
LOL Drinks are available at Waitrose and will be rolled out further this summer.
The Fifty Shades Trilogy
CONTAINS SPOILERS
I finally jumped on the bandwagon to see what all the social media fuss was about. The lead characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey meet when Anastasia arrives to interview Christian in place of her sick room-mate Katherine. What follows is slightly ludicrous as she a virgin agrees to embark on a sexual relationship with him based on a contract dependent on her submission.
It turns out that sexy, loaded has everything Christian is very damaged having been raised until the age of four by his crack addicted mother and was then rescued via adoption by the Grey family. The main problem is Anastasia simply isn’t good at being submissive, she struggles and begins to tame some of Christian’s issues convincing him that ‘vanilla’ sex will be OK. Gradually along with lots of fights and sex they fall in love.
In the second and third book their lives are complicated by her disobedience and his constant over-reactions to her friends and desire to socialise, she learns how to work her way around him and it usually involves the ‘playroom’.
The third book actually has a plot that doesn’t just involve sex and so get 4/5 stars compared with the other two which only get three. The problem is you have to have read the first two books to understand who the characters are and how they are related to Anastasia and Christian. With fiction the events of the story obviously need to be condensed but in this case Anastasia goes from virgin to sex slave, to married and pregnant in a matter of months, there is a lot of sex, that goes without saying and some of it tends to the kinky side as Anastasia learns to lover her own body. Her inner goddess and consciousness seem to constantly comment on her life and to be honest they get rather irritating as do the constant ‘oh my’, ‘whoa’ and assorted other repetitive phrases. The story line is at times a little stretched, for instance someone tampers with Christian’s helicopter, he manages to land, hike back to Seattle and comfort his distressed girlfriend and assorted family members, then to recover he indulges in hours of sex!
Anyway entertaining in its own way although the first book in particular has a rushed feeling it held my interest enough for me to read the remainder of the trilogy, even if at times I was rolling my eyes and biting my lip!